Roberts Removes Ohtani After Five No-Hit Innings; Dodgers' Bullpen Blows Lead in 9-6 Loss to Phillies
Manager Dave Roberts stuck to an innings plan for Shohei Ohtani in his return from Tommy John surgery, and the bullpen surrendered a six-run frame as the Dodgers fell at home.
Shohei Ohtani was pulled after five no-hit innings Tuesday night and the Los Angeles Dodgers watched their bullpen surrender a six-run rally as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 9-6 victory at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani retired the first 15 batters he faced and left after five innings with a 4-0 lead and 68 pitches, having struck out five and walked one. Justin Wrobleski, the first reliever, allowed a single to his second batter faced and ultimately yielded five runs in a six-run sixth that erased the Dodgers' advantage. Los Angeles rallied to tie the game in the eighth, but Philadelphia answered with three runs in the ninth to complete the comeback.
Manager Dave Roberts said the decision to remove Ohtani was consistent with a deliberate inning progression designed to protect the two-way star in his return from Tommy John surgery. Tuesday marked Ohtani's 13th start since returning; it was only the second time he has completed five innings this season.
"He wasn't going to go back out," Roberts said. "We've been very steadfast in every situation as far as inning for his usage, from one inning to two innings to three to four to five. We haven't deviated from that. So, I was trying to get his pulse on for going forward, where he's at, continue to go to the sixth inning. And he says, 'Doing OK,' and so that was good, but I'm not going to have a plan for five innings and then he pitches well and say, 'Hey, now you're going to go six innings.' He's too important and if something does happen, then that's on me for changing that and we haven't done that, so I'm not going to do that right now."
Roberts checked in with Ohtani at the end of the fifth to ask how he was feeling, SportsNet LA reporter Kirsten Watson said, and first baseman Freddie Freeman was shown on the dugout video ribbing the manager about the tense decision. Ohtani, speaking through a translator, said he wanted to pitch as long as possible but respected the front office and manager's judgment. He lowered his ERA to 3.29 on the night and also hit his 50th home run earlier in the season.
The loss continued an unflattering recent trend for the Dodgers of carrying strong starting pitching performances into the late innings only to see leads evaporate. Earlier this month, teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning before Baltimore rallied to win, and Tuesday's game extended the string of late-inning bullpen collapses that have plagued Los Angeles.
Wrobleski's outing began with a two-out single and unfolded into a multi-run frame for the Phillies, who chased the Dodger bullpen and then closed the game on a three-run ninth. The Dodgers answered with two runs in the eighth to knot the game, but a Philadelphia response in the ninth sealed the result.
Roberts said he had no regrets about adhering to the preplanned usage limits for Ohtani, a player the Dodgers view as central to their postseason hopes. "We haven't deviated from that," he said. "So, I was trying to get his pulse on for going forward... I'm not going to do that right now."
The Dodgers (84-67) entered the night leading the San Diego Padres by two games in the National League West, but their hold on home-field advantages for the playoffs has weakened; Los Angeles trails the Philadelphia Phillies by 6 1/2 games for the No. 2 seed in the NL. The Dodgers' remaining regular-season schedule includes series against contenders such as the San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, contests that will factor heavily into seeding and momentum heading into October.
Ohtani was circumspect but composed in the clubhouse after the game. "As a player, I want to pitch as long as possible but I also understand and respect the decision the front office and the manager makes," he said through a translator. "I was asked how my body was feeling (in the fifth) and so I said I felt good, my stuff was good. So, it's ultimately up to the manager to make the decision."
Roberts said the team will continue its cautious approach to Ohtani's workload with the postseason in mind and emphasized that any change to his usage would be made only with clear, consistent reasoning. The immediate result was a dramatic, costly swing of momentum Tuesday night that left the Dodgers scrambling to repair a bullpen that has faltered at critical moments this season.